The document provides tips and techniques for effective exam revision including organizing your revision plan, preparing your notes, using different revision techniques, managing stress, and preparing for exam day. Some key points are: 1) Create a revision plan that schedules subjects, learning periods, breaks and targets times for meals, sleep, and recreation to stay on track. 2) Prepare your notes by rewriting, summarizing, and highlighting essential points. Test your recall using flashcards, quizzing others, and recording notes. 3) Effective revision techniques include reciting notes aloud, mapping concepts visually, associating memory hooks, and using short bursts of revision throughout the day. 4) Managing stress is important

1. REVISION TECHNIQUES WORKSHOP Catherine Jeanneau LANGUAGE SUPPORT UNIT

2. Skills required to prepare for exams and do well on the day. Organise yourself Prepare your revision Memory style Revision techniques Keep stress away Tips for the exam day

3. Organise yourself 1 Find out from Student Services the exact dates and times of your exams. UL Homepage-Current Students-Student Timetable-Exam Timetable Look at past papers to know what you have to focus your revision on. Check with your tutors/lecturers that the format has not changed. Past papers will also be useful when you want to check how much you have learnt (see revision techniques).

4. Organise yourself 2 Make a revision plan that includes all your subjects (don’t leave the revision for your last exam for the last few days as you will be tired and less able to learn by that time). Think of revision as part of your course. Your revision plan should: - have a daily outline including times for meals, breaks, exercise and sleep. Leave time for recreation. - mix strong and weak subjects so that you don’t do all the difficult topic(s) at once! - include learning targets you can achieve & tick off when accomplished (it is a great confidence boost!) - have learning periods of 30-45 min otherwise your concentration goes. Alternate learning periods with breaks or information/notes organising.

5. Prepare your revision Once you have a revision plan: - make sure you have all the class notes (If you missed classes, try to get notes from other students on your course) - read through your notes and if there are grey areas, use your reading list or books in the library to cover them - find a quiet place to study - talk to other students on your course to make sure they are revising the same topics and see if they wish to plan revision groups.(Possible to book rooms in library for group study)

6. Before looking at revision techniques, check your memory style! Flanagan (1997) argues that we remember: 20% of what we read 30% of what we hear 40 % of what we see 50% of what we say 60% of what we do And… 90% of what we read, hear, see, say and do!

7. Revision techniques Always use past experiences to improve. What did you do last year/term to prepare for the exams? How did it work for you? What can you keep? What should you change? Are there some revision techniques you use in some subjects that can be transferred to other subjects?

8. Revision techniques 1 Rewrite and organise classnotes & info .: Rewriting helps the memory process. Summarise notes ( 1 page per topic). Write topic headings and key points on index cards. Use back of index cards for quotations etc. Highlight : use either various colours or symbols to indicate what is essential to learn (it helps your photographic memory). Record : Record essential points (on your phone or MP3 player). You can then listen to them as you rest, walk, eat.. Good for your audio memory. Speak out : Read your notes out loud, good for your audio memory too.

9. Revision techniques 2 Recall : Hide a part of what you have learnt & try to recall the essential info (very good for word lists, grammar tables..). Use colour. Test yourself : Try for example to do a past exam respecting the time allocated. Pool your knowledge : organise group revision sessions: good to keep you motivated (deadlines), the discussion helps you to understand and remember, good for low concentration (in the pm after intense morning revision.)

10. Revision techniques 3 Jazz things up : Organise the info in tables, diagrams, drawings or even cartoons to help. (see mind maps, next slide) Memory hooks : ‘Hooks' are things you can associate with the information to help you remember it. Give meaning to what you are trying to memorise. Use your own techniques to remember: make word associations, mnemonics (turning letters of a list into a word that is easy to recall), poems or stories to remind you of main points), for grammar, make up example sentences demonstrating rule.

11. Revision techniques 4: Mind Maps To make notes on a subject using a Mind Map, draw it in the following way: Write the title of the subject in the cent re of the page, and draw a circle around it. For the major subject subheadings, draw lines out from this circle. Label these lines with the subheadings. If you have another level of information belonging to the subheadings above, draw these and link them to the subheading lines. Finally, for individual facts or ideas, draw lines out from the appropriate heading line and label them. As you come across new information, link it in to the Mind Map appropriately.

12. Revision techniques: styles & traps Learning styles : see websites http:// www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html Traps : Reading your notes is not enough as it is inactive learning. Need to practise using the info.You need to quiz yourself or test each other in revision groups (orally/in writing)

13. Quick revision tips http://www.nwlg.org/pages/resources/knowitall/revision/technique7.htm Make use of short periods for revision e.g five or ten minutes for course overview. Short periods are also useful for revising word lists, dates, or formulas. Carry small revision cards and prompt lists for this purpose. You can check through a list whilst you are on a bus, for instance. Three or four shorter sessions like this might be more useful than one longer block. If you get tired, take a short break. Get some fresh air.

14. Keeping stress away Stress is no good: paralysing effects when learning and when doing the exams. So: Get enough sleep Organise a revision routine Set learning targets: sense of achievement Eat and drink regularly Exercise and get fresh air Avoid caffeine/high sugar inputs/high amounts of cigarettes: energy but also counteractive effects Find out when your concentration is higher Be positive (You’ve done this before!)

15. Tips for the exam day 1 Have a good night sleep the night before. Do not try to learn new material! Notes only. Eat something before the exam. Get a bit of fresh air or exercise. Make sure you have a watch, several pens. Have enough to drink (bring water or juice). Check the time and venue and arrive early enough to avoid stress. Avoid panic groups! Wear layers of clothes (so as not to be too hot or cold)

16. Tips for the exam day 2 Tackling the exam paper: Read the exam paper fully to assess what you have to do in the time you have. Make sure you don’t forget some questions. Allocate some time for each one and stick to it (don’t spend too long on 1 question). Decide on the order of the questions yourself according to points & knowledge. Take a few minutes to plan answers. Leave some space at the end of each answer so you can add extra info. you might remember after you’ve completed the other questions. Keep time to re-read your answers and check you haven’t forgotten some info. If you run out of time, write bullet points.

17. Always useful… Make sure you understand the question(s) Answer the question and only the question! If it is an essay-type question, don’t forget to structure it (intro, development, conclusion..) Have a set of ready-made expressions (see hand-outs) Use structures you know and simple words. Always make sure you organise your ideas.

18. FINALLY…. BEST OF LUCK .. 